Except for Jaws and BTTF, name a Universal franchise that has NOT had a new entries in the last thirty years worthy of a theme park attraction. If we’re talking Universal nostalgia… let’s get nostalgic.
Ahhhhhhhhh…okay, I’ll play.
Jaws is the 34th highest-grossing film in Universal’s entire library (unadjusted for inflation of course). Here’s what precedes it:
-Bruce Almighty: not viable
-The Grinch: already represented
-Meet the Fockers: not viable
-HttYD: already represented
-Despicable Me: already represented
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Kung Fu Panda: this one’s on the table
-Ted: not viable
-King Kong: already represented
-50 Shades: not viable (yes, I know this is getting clipped)
-Mamma Mia: not viable
-Jurassic Park/World: already represented
-Fast and Furious: already represented
-Sing: on the table
-Wicked: on the table
-ET: already represented
-Pets: evidently not viable
-Oppenheimer: not viable
-Mario: already represented
So when talking about what beats out nostalgia, from a pure dollars and cents perspective (unadjusted for inflation or anything beyond box office dollars), the nostalgic properties are up against three potential options.
The problem is modern Universal’s model is to put a lot of effort into a few cornerstone franchises that already have a park presence, a boatload of marketing into low budget/high profit ceiling fare (the Blumhouse/Dreamworks model), and save the rest for creative auteurs. That’s not a model that’s gonna lend itself to theme park expansion in the same way Universal of the 70’s and 80’s did.